Is Plug-In Solar Legal in Maine?
Yes. Maine passed a plug-in solar law: LD 1730, An Act to Make Small Plug-in Solar Generation Devices Accessible for All Maine Residents to Address the Energy Affordability Crisis (Chapter 644), effective July 15, 2026. Qualifying portable solar devices up to 1,200 W can plug into a standard outlet with no utility approval and no fees. A lower 420 W threshold applies for the Install-it-yourself limit.
View Recommended ProductsMaine Plug-In Solar: Key Facts
What LD 1730 allows and requires for portable solar generation devices.
Your utility
- ✓No utility approval needed before you install or use the system
- ℹYou must notify your utility within 30 days of installing a system over 420 watts
- ✓No utility fees allowed for the system
- ✓Exempt from interconnection requirements and agreements
- ℹNot part of the net metering program (offsets your own use)
- ℹThe utility is not liable for damage or injury caused by the device
How to notify your utility
Maine only asks for a notice on systems over 420 watts, and it goes in after the install rather than before. Send it within 30 days on the form the Public Utilities Commission prescribes. It has to include your service address, the inverter capacity of the system, and a statement that the system meets the requirements of the law. Check with your utility on how they want to receive it.
Other Maine requirements
- ℹUp to 420 watts of combined inverter output you can set the system up yourself, with nothing to file.
- ℹBetween 420 and 1,200 watts, a licensed Maine electrician has to install the system, and it has to run on a dedicated circuit with a single outlet.
- ℹYour utility cannot turn down a system that meets the requirements of the law.
- ℹYou will not be paid for power the system sends to the grid, so the savings come from the power you use yourself.
- ℹThe same rules cover plug-in batteries: a battery that plugs into a regular outlet and can charge or discharge on its own, whether or not you have panels. It counts toward the same wattage limits.
Renter, HOA & local rules
- ℹMaine does not give renters a right to install, so get your landlord’s permission in writing first. If you put a system on a building you do not own, the law requires that the installation not compromise the structure and not violate any state or local building, fire, or zoning code, and that you restore the building to its earlier condition when you take the system down.
What LD 1730 Means for You
Maine set clear rules for plug-in solar in LD 1730, which Governor Mills signed on April 6, 2026 as Chapter 644. The rules took effect on July 14, 2026, and made Maine the second state after Utah to pass a plug-in solar law. Plug-in solar means a small system you can set up yourself: panels and an inverter that plug into a regular outlet, rather than a rooftop array wired into your electrical panel. Maine lets you run up to 1,200 watts of inverter output at an address, either as one unit or several that add up to that limit, and the same rules cover plug-in batteries that charge and discharge through an outlet.
What makes Maine different is the split at 420 watts. Up to 420 watts you can buy a system, plug it in, and be done, with nothing to file and no electrician to hire. Between 420 and 1,200 watts, a licensed Maine electrician has to do the install, the system has to run on a dedicated circuit with a single outlet, and you have to send your utility a notice within 30 days with your service address, the inverter capacity, and a statement that the system meets the law. Either way, your utility cannot require its approval first, cannot make you apply for interconnection or sign an interconnection agreement, cannot charge you a fee for the system, and cannot make you add equipment beyond what comes in the box. It also cannot refuse a system that meets the law. What the law does not give you is credit for exports, since these systems cannot be used for net energy billing, so the savings come from the power you use as you generate it.
One thing to know before you shop: LD 1730 asks for a system listed or certified to UL 3700, or to a comparable standard from a recognized testing lab, and no plug-in solar product has been certified as a complete system yet. Parts of some products are certified, but that is not the same thing. The law does leave a third path, a system configured to the National Electrical Code that Maine adopts by rule, though nothing on the market is sold as meeting that on its own and it would come down to a licensed electrician signing off. If you are in Maine, the short answer for now is the same as in Vermont: wait until a full system is certified.
- Maine passed a plug-in solar law. LD 1730, also known as Chapter 644, has been in effect since July 14, 2026.
- You can run one or more systems per service address, up to 1,200 watts of combined inverter output.
- Up to 420 watts you can install it yourself. Above 420 watts a licensed Maine electrician has to do the work, on a dedicated circuit with a single outlet.
- A system over 420 watts also needs a notice to your utility within 30 days of installation.
- The system plugs into a regular outlet instead of being wired into your electrical panel.
- The system has to be listed or certified to UL 3700, or to a comparable standard by a recognized testing lab, or configured to the National Electrical Code that Maine adopts by rule.
- The inverter has to shut off within 0.2 seconds if power is disrupted, so it cannot send power into your wiring or out to the grid during an outage.
- You do not need utility approval, an interconnection application, an interconnection agreement, or an interconnection study.
- Your utility cannot charge you a fee for the system, require extra equipment beyond what comes with it, or refuse a system that meets the law.
- Plug-in solar cannot be used for net energy billing, so the savings come from the power you use yourself.
- The law covers plug-in batteries on the same terms as plug-in solar.
Solar Payback Calculator
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No listed products qualify in Maine yet — see Recommended Products below for why. You can still add your own equipment.
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Recommended Products
No plug-in solar products are recommended for Maine right now.
Maine requires a plug-in solar system certified to UL 3700, and no product has been certified as a complete system yet. Some individual parts carry that certification, but a certified part does not make a certified system. Nothing sold today meets the rule, so no products are listed for Maine until a full system is certified.
Want to see where plug-in solar stands in other states? View the interactive map, compare laws, or browse advocacy resources.
This page summarizes LD 1730 for general information and is not legal advice. Verify details with your utility and the official bill text before installing.